Fault Line

by Laurie Alberts

In 1969 Kim Janik was a young man shining with promise—handsome, brilliant, studying at Harvard on a physics scholarship—and he was in love with Laurie Alberts, a troubled teenager from a wealthy Boston suburb. Twenty-five years later, when Kim’s naked and decomposing body was discovered on the Wyoming prairie, one photograph—that of the Harvard junior and the seventeen-year-old—was found in his abandoned car. This book is Alberts’s attempt to piece together what happened in between. An accomplished novelist, Alberts brings to her task the searching intelligence, clear-eyed candor, and narrative grace that have marked her previous books. She painstakingly recreates her turbulent relationship with Kim and traces the twisted course that led to his eventual ruin. A story of obsessive love, societal upheaval, and the warring impulses of survival and self-destruction, Fault Line moves beyond the limits of the traditional memoir into the realms of biography and literary journalism. With interviews and letters, Alberts augments her lucid reflections in an effort to comprehend Kim’s life and death and her place in both. The result is a singular work that melds the inner and outer worlds with a seamless intensity.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Albert's worldview hinges precariously on solipsism, and it's agony to read. She actually ponders at one point that perhaps she survived her reckless behavior and Kim did not survive his because she was "tougher than Kim." How anyone could put this much time and thought into the death of an alcoholic and never actually learn anything about the DISEASE of alcoholism and the brain is beyond me. Alcoholism has been considered a disease, not a lack of will or "toughness" since the 50's. For whatever reason, she seems to want to believe he died because she left him. In part, it's true, but not because he loved her, but because he was an alcoholic, stuck in the ruts of a disease that prevents growth, and she didn't help him. Only 15% of alcoholics in our country get the help they need. Her attitude--that Kim's self-destruction was all about her --is a major reason why. She makes nearly every one of his actions about her and seems incapable of considering there's more to his life than her. I kept reading thinking--surely she will get there. She does not. She's clearly well-educated and privileged, and she's a well-practiced writer. Some beautiful sentences, but overall I'd say Albert's book lacks depth, honest exploration (re-living your wild days on the page using interesting descriptions does not equal exploration), and a good healthy dose of getting herself right-sized. Only read this if you want an example of how you can write an entire memoir and not actually learn what the universe needed you to learn.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part biography, part memoir, and part postmortem of a doomed/failed relationship. Normally, I would not be interested in a book like this (for the relationship aspect) but Laurie weaves people, place, and time into something compelling. There was not a dull moment for me.
Literary skill, Laurie Alberts has plenty. Towards the end of the book it also becomes clear she is a skilled interviewer.

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

There seemed to be something really self-referential and solipsistic about this book, so I put it down, for at least the second time, before getting very far into it. That said, I still have a desire to try to finish it at a later date, so there must be something attractive about it...

[Verna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. A very honest, objective story about one woman's quest for acceptance and understanding of her past. The woman struggles to find closure in a ex-boyfriend's untimely and tragic death while taking responsibility for what went wrong in the relationship.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memoir about her lover Kim. When he died alone in the desert, her picture was with him. They met in high school. She was sexually impulsive. Not much depth in the writing.